Portland Apartment Market Stuck in Low

PORTLAND- Since occupancy in Portland’s larger apartment complexes fell from 96% in mid-2001 to 92% in the first quarter of 2002, it has remained largely unchanged; as of the end of March 2003, it was 92.7%, according to the latest report from San Francisco-based Real Facts.

“This lengthy softening of occupancy is probably related to ongoing unemployment problems and negative job growth in the area,” states the report. “With an economy that was once propelled by high tech industry, Portland shows lingering weakness, and many analysts predict that when national recovery comes, Portland will lag behind.”

Rents are a similar story: Despite the average rent for an apartment in Greater Portland dipping by $3 in the first quarter–moving from $748 in December to $745 at the end of March–rents over the past year have been essentially flat. Overall rent growth in the past year has been just 0.5%, though studio rents have risen 7.7% to $586 a month over the last year and rents for one-bedroom townhouses have jumped 5.4% to $921 a month, according to the report.